No Access to Access Croydon

Yesterday we sent a join letter in collaboration with 30 local organisations calling on Croydon Council to reopen Access Croydon to local street homeless residents in urgent need of housing support. Croydon Council rushed through a new system that meant that residents can no longer present directly to the council if they have become homeless. Residents are advised go online and use a self-help tool, that will then book them onto a housing assessment, the current wait time of which is 4 months.

If you have been evicted, if you are experiencing domestic violence, if you don't speak English, if you're sleeping rough and don't have an email address you can keep an eye on or internet on your phone you are being denied access to your right to a housing assessment, which is a legal duty the Local Authority has to you if you are eligible and in need.



Thursday 20th March 2025

Dear Katherine Kerswell, Susmita Sen and Mayor Jason Perry,

We are writing to you concerning your recent decision to close Access Croydon to anyone who does not have a pre-booked appointment, denying residents access to vital support. 

We are particularly concerned for residents who are homeless and will no longer be able to access support from the council unless they are able to complete an online form. We know there are multiple barriers which may prevent this access such as digital exclusion, language barriers and reliable access to email accounts to name only a few.  

All Local Authorities have a duty to carry out an assessment in all cases when an eligible applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. According to section 103 of the 1996 Housing Act, ‘applications do not need to be in writing nor in any other particular form. As long as an application makes it clear they are seeking assistance, this constitutes a homelessness application’. Residents who are unable to access the self-help tool will be denied their right to a homelessness assessment if they are unable to present directly to Croydon Council. 

Currently, the wait time for a housing assessment via the self-help tool is 4 months, making it extremely unlikely for the council to effectively fulfil its duty to triage and assess homeless residents in a timely manner, particularly those at risk. This presents a serious safeguarding concern that is yet to be addressed. 

Mayor Perry- in your 2022 Mayoral Election Manifesto you told the people of Croydon that “you should be able to speak to a real person and I will make that option actually work. I will reopen the doors of the Council Offices to allow residents to speak directly to a real person”, yet last week you did the exact opposite.

The voluntary sector in Croydon has been under extreme pressure to plug the gap created by Croydon Council’s financial mismanagement and subsequent erosion of services. The council cannot expect these same overstretched organisations to take on the work of Access Croydon in essentially providing a front desk for homelessness services as a cost-saving measure.

We understand that emergency slots will be available but this has not been communicated widely, nor has the process been made clear regarding how residents can access these. We request that you confirm the following:

  • How many emergency slots will be available every day?

  • How can residents access these slots?

  • Will these slots be solely for homelessness appointments or will they be for a range of council services?

We demand that you reopen Access Croydon to enable Croydon’s vulnerable homeless residents to access the services that they are entitled to by law.

Signed:

Emma Gardiner, Director South Norwood Community Kitchen

Daniel Turner, Director Keep it Moving CiC

Paola Uccellar, CEO Young Roots

Andrew Brown, Director Croydon BME Forum

Jad Adams, Chair Nightwatch 

Patrick Marples, CEO South West London Law Centre

Jean Demars, Director Public Interest Law Centre

Michael Deas, Co-ordinator London Renters Union

Julia Weller, CEO Family Centre Fieldway

Time Oldham, CEO Hear Us Croydon

Jessica Turtle, Director Museum of Homelessness

Carla Ecola, Director The Outside Project

Amanda McGrath, Managing Director Good Food Matters

Natalie Fernandez, Manager Upper Norwood Baptist Food Bank

Sue Barnett, South Norwood Baptist Food Bank 

Marie Cyrus, Project Manager Westbury Community Project

Project 4 Youth Empowerment CIC 

Croydon Voluntary Action

Red Thread

The Lois Project Women’s Health Network

Cllr Ria Patel, Green Party Councillor for Fairfield Ward

Cllr Esther Sutton, Green Party Councillor for Fairfield Ward

Peter Underwood

Croydon Green Party

Croydon Community Action

Resistance Kitchen

Hodge Podge Theatre Company

Noo Thinking 

Croydon Community Action 

Reclaim Croydon

The Lois Project: Health Network

SR Expressions

Love Loud



Emma Gardiner